I Know, I Know

I know I have been lax about updates and I was shocked when I saw that my last entry here was 2 weeks ago. I will do my best to cover some of what has been going on today. Again I apologize for lack of photos. My old camera still works very well, but it is quite bulky, far too big for my pocket, which means I have to strap it around my neck and it just is not comfortable. I think I will buy an iphone next time I am in US, which ought to solve the camera problem. That being said, here goes with the accounting of the last several days.

I returned to HCMC last night after a week in Malaysia and Singapore. It was so good to be back home that I never left even to eat supper once I got back to my room. Fortunately there was enough water pressure and hot water for a relaxing shower which is not always the case. After my shower I dined on crackers and a duty free Bombay Gin martini before hitting the sack.

The trip to Malaysia and Singapore was actually a business trip for my VN friend Phu and I just accompanied him. He wholesales agricultural pumps which are manufactured in Kluang, Malaysia, and that was our first stop. We flew from HCMC to Singapore on budget priced Tiger Air for just over $100 return. Upon landing in Singapore we immediately took a bus from the airport to the Singapore Malay border less than an hour away. After clearing immigration so very efficiently we boarded a new bus to Kluang. By the time we arrived we both were tired and took the first hotel we saw which was quite nice. We strolled a bit through the town, had supper and went back to the hotel. The next day we went to the pump factory and I sat in on the business meetings which was so unlike my career with American Airlines and I quite enjoyed the experience. Evidently Phu is a good customer and by the time we were ready to leave the factory late in the afternoon, the boss had arranged for a car to take us to our next destination, Melacca, about 2 hours away. How luxurious to be treated so courteously! I could get used to that!

Since I have spent a fair amount of time in Melacca I suggested we go to an innl I had used before. We took a room without looking at it and was that ever a mistake. Things had definitely taken a turn for the worse here and we spent a very uncomfortable night in a very dreary room.

We changed lodgings first thing in the morning and spent the rest of the day exploring the wonderful ancient city. For lunch I took Phu to a banana leaf restaurant which is a style of Indian restaurant where a banana leaf serves as a plate and servers with rice and all kinds of vegetables plop a spoonful onto the leaf and you eat with your fingers. Later in the day I contacted a local friend whom we met for supper in a very different type restaurant with forks, spoons and napkins. I like variety, you know.

After a day of relaxing Phu began phase 2 of the business trip which was to search for a supplier of rubber air filled baby bed sheets for his wife to sell in her wholesale baby care company. As you may know Malaysia is a big producer of rubber and the first factory we visited made many rubber baby products such as the sheets, baby bottles, rubber baby dolls, etc., but their biggest product was condoms. Never did I dream I would go to a condom factory! Naturally there was some humorous discussion about one product depressing sales of the others. The sales manager said he never had a problem explaining to his wife if he came home with condoms in his pocket--"just business" was his logical explanation. Upon leaving he gave us both a handful of their products including one lighted vibradome condom which is touted to enhance the excitement. I have not opened the package, so no comment.

The remainder of the week was more factory visits and we collected samples of baby sheets for Thaou, Phu's wife, to peruse. No other factory visit was quite as fun as the above mentioned Takaso Rubber Products. After 2 nights in Melacca, we traveled by bus to Johor Bahru, the last point on the mainland of Malaysia and just across from the island of Singapore.

Johor Bahru has the same reputation as border towns everywhere---dangerous and unsafe. I kind of relish the edge of danger and was actually disappointed that there seemed to be no peril anywhere we went. For breakfast in Johor I had one of the most memorable meals of the trip---a kind of pancake served with 3 spicy savory sauces. Again this was a hands on meal.

From our hotel in Johor we walked a short distance to the Malaysia Departure checkpoint, completed our emigration process and boarded a bus to take us across the bridge which separates Malaysia from Singapore. We processed ourselves into Singapore easily and spent the final night of our trip in another hotel I had used previously, this one more satisfactory that my earlier recommendation. Because our time in Singapore was brief and the heat nearly suffocating, we did very little exploring, venturing out for dinner in nearby Chinatown and spending the rest of the time relaxing poolside.

This trip reaffirmed two opinions I formed years ago. First, Malaysia is one of my favorite countries-- friendly multicultural (Malay, Chinese, Indian) locals, excellent intercity transport on a fine highways, lush green scenery everywhere providing delightful oxygen filled air. Second, Singapore is the most expensive city in southeast Asia where everything seems to cost too much. My standard to evaluate travel/living costs of a country is the average price of beer. In Viet Nam and Cambodia, one beer costs $1; in Thailand, $2; in Malaysia, $3; in Singapore, $5.

Now I am happy to be back in the land of $1 beer and plenty of vegetables with every meal. I am anticipating a trip back to the US sometime this spring to take care of taxes so I will start planning soon. Again, sorry for the gap in communication. All is well in HCMC.